In a rare interview, key Apple designers reveal why they gave the new Apple Pencil that digital shadow, and how it's part of their overall goal for the [iPad Pro](https://appleinsider.com/inside/ipad-pro "iPad Pro").  
  
When Apple launched the latest iPad Pro with an M4 processor, it also introduced the new and [well-received](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/05/10/apple-pencil-pro-and-new-ipads-are-a-warning-shot-at-wacom) [Apple Pencil Pro](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-pencil-pro "Apple Pencil Pro"). What it didn't do was point out a design feature that was [delightfully spotted](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/05/20/apple-pencil-pro-casts-a-fake-shadow-based-on-which-tool-youre-using) by users.  
  
If an iPad Pro user is hand writing on the device, the Apple Pencil Pro appears to throw a shadow that looks like a fountain pen. Or if the user is painting, the shadow is of a paintbrush.  

Apple's iPad Pro designers talk about thinness and the Apple Pencil shadow

A photograph of cases intended for the [iPhone 16](https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone-16 "iPhone 16") indicates at least one accessory producer is leaning in on rumors of a new vertical camera arrangement in the new models.  
  
Various rumors have promoted the idea that Apple will make a change to the rear [camera arrangement](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/02/17/weibo-iphone-16-leak-doubles-down-on-vertical-camera-rumor) on the iPhone 16, switching from a diagonal positioning within a square bump to a [vertical one](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/02/16/alleged-leaked-iphone-16-part-suggests-vertical-camera-alignment). The change should mean that the bump area will also slim down to about half the size to accommodate.  
  
In a photograph shared by Sonny Dickson via X on Friday morning, a pair of cases are shown, claimed to be the "first cases" for the iPhone 16. Both of the cases are transparent with purple edging and have oval cut-outs for the camera bump.  

iPhone 16 Pro models may look sleeker with new polished titanium finish

iPhone 16 case leak includes vertical camera bump at the back

Apple is working to remove the need for users to add prescription lenses to the [Apple Vision Pro](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-vision-pro "Apple Vision Pro"), by having the headset itself adapt to different vision needs.  

Apple Vision Pro can be used by people with very many — [but not all](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/01/19/how-apple-vision-pro-deals-with-monovision——and-what-vision-problems-it-cant-deal-with) — visual impairment issues. So far, that involves selecting and using lenses or [optical inserts](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/02/17/hands-on-with-apple-vision-pro-zeiss-optical-inserts).  
  
That does mean that you can't just order an Apple Vision Pro online and expect it to be right for you. It's clearly in both Apple's and users' interests to make it more convenient to buy an Apple Vision Pro, and to have it work for more people.

Future Apple Vision Pro may correct for vision problems without magnetic lenses

Ever since the dawn of personal computing, there has always been a worry about how the public could be tempted to buy new hardware until there was enough new software written for it to make it demonstrably useful. Apple, not Meta, is in a prime position to make this happen with VR.  
  
Early advertisements for home computers often suggested that buyers would be laying down $2,000 or more to streamline their food preparation. Presumably, the ads suggested it could possibly make some sense to place a steel box, bulky CRT monitor and various cabled drives and other peripherals next to boiling water, steam, and other heat sources as well as sticky sauces, fluffy powders and other threats to the electronics.  
  
"Computer assisted cooking" was only one of a variety of impractical ideas that Apple floated in the late '70s as it was trying to imagine how people might use their new technology purchases. Fortunately, these clumsy "solutions looking for buyers" were eclipsed by far more practical, powerful tools that unleashed buyers' own creativity and solved real needs.

Apple Vision Pro will be the platform for the killer VR app, not Meta

Apple's Beats has become the official consumer audio products partner of MLS, with the personal audio company producing exclusive custom Beats headphones for eight teams.  
  
The global agreement, announced on Monday, is a multi-year agreement that will see Beats provide custom versions of Beats headphones created specifically for the teams.  
  
Eight teams have been selected for the custom headphone treatment in 2024, including Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami, LAFC, Nashville SC, NYCFC, St. Louis City SC, and Toronto FC. Others will be added to the roster in the future.  
 

MLS teams to get custom Beats headphones in a multi-year brand deal

Apple has been researching how to make privacy filters to prevent anyone but the user seeing what's on their curved screen — but Apple has never made a curved screen.  
  
You can read too much into Apple's thousands of patent applications, but it's unlikely that the company would research a technology with no intention of using it. The six credited inventors on a [new patent application](https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20240036238) did not cook this up during their lunch hour.  
  
That's especially unlikely as the new application is "Privacy Films for Curved Displays" — and a version of it was already granted by the US Patent Office [in 2023](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/11/21/apple-working-on-privacy-tech-to-make-shoulder-surfing-iphone-screens-harder). So Apple is not only exploring the idea of curved screens, it's iterating on the idea.

Apple's next Studio Display could be curved and very secure

As ever on the day of a major release, Apple has taken down the online Apple Store — at least in the US — and will reopen later for the start of [Apple Vision Pro](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-vision-pro "Apple Vision Pro") orders.  
  
It's routine for Apple to take down its store, it does the same thing with [every iPhone launch](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/09/15/apple-takes-store-down-ahead-of-iphone-15-pre-orders) for instance, but it is unusual that it's confined only to the US. The reason is that Apple Vision Pro is solely launching in the States, so for once no other version of the store will feature it.  
  
When the store re-opens at 5 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Eastern, it will also be unusual in how involved the pre-order process is. Since Apple Vision Pro has to be adjusted for different head sizes, and optionally also for prescription lenses, pre-ordering will take two steps.  
  
The first is the regular placing of an order — though [Apple's recommendations](https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/01/18/how-to-preorder-the-apple-vision-pro) include how buyers will have to have the latest version of the Apple Store [iOS](https://appleinsider.com/inside/ios "iOS") app installed — and then a separate stage to do with the lenses. Users with corrective lenses will have to upload details of their prescriptions.

Apple’s Online Store Goes Down Ahead of Vision Pro Pre-Orders Later Today

Apple takes store down ahead of Apple Vision Pro pre-orders

The Monokei Systems keyboard, introduced at CES 2024, showcases a design prioritizing compatibility with [Mac](https://appleinsider.com/inside/mac "Mac") and customizable features.  
  
It features a 75% layout, low profile, and slim design, enhancing the simplicity of the mechanical keyboard space. It includes a Magnet Mount system allowing interchangeable top and bottom cases, keycaps, switches, and a magnetic faceplate.  
  
A significant design advancement is the introduction of the brand's new Series 2 keyset, specifically designed for low-profile keyboards. These keycaps address ergonomic challenges such as high angles and tall keycaps, typical in mechanical keyboards.

Monokei introduces sleek & Mac-friendly mechanical keyboard at CES

A newly-granted patent shows how Apple has at least designed a stand that is specifically for charging an [iPhone](https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone "iPhone") during filming, and connecting to a gimbal.  

There was no sign of such a [MagSafe](https://appleinsider.com/inside/magsafe "MagSafe") charging camera stand [when Apple filmed](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/10/31/how-apples-iphone-15-pro-max-captured-the-scary-fast-apple-event) its Scary Fast event on iPhones in 2023. But as early as 2021, its designs were sufficiently advanced that Apple applied for a patent for it.  
  
Now that patent, "Adapter For Charging and Stabilizing Cameras," [has been granted](https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/11867352). In it, Apple claims that some iPhone "cameras have such a high quality that they are replacing traditional single-lens reflex (SLR) and other cameras in many applications."  

Apple has designed a MagSafe gimbal camera mount for iPhones

Apple has finally nailed down the release date of the [Apple Vision Pro](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-vision-pro "Apple Vision Pro") in the United States, with it reaching customer hands starting on February 2, following a brief pre-order period.  
  

Since its [introduction](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/06/05/apple-vision-pro-mixed-reality-headset-launches-at-wwdc-after-years-of-rumors) at [WWDC](https://appleinsider.com/inside/wwdc "WWDC") 2023, Apple has repeatedly said the Apple Vision Pro will be available sometime in early 2024, without pinning down an exact date. Now, Apple has finally confirmed when its mixed reality headset will become available.  
  
Apple's headset will ship to customers on February 2. Preorders begin on January 19.  


Apple Vision Pro in stores February 2, pre-orders start January 19

Apple Vision Pro goes on sale 2nd February... but questions remain

Apple Vision Pro will ship to customers on February 2

Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes that Apple is accelerating its AI work and will announce an improved Siri at WWDC, and launch an AI-powered [iPhone](https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone "iPhone") in September 2024.

Morgan Stanley [has said](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/11/08/apple-best-placed-to-benefit-as-ai-goes-mainstream-says-morgan-stanley) before that it expects Apple will benefit the most as AI becomes mainstream, but now its analysts are "getting more excited" about what it describes as Apple's Edge AI work.  
  
"\[We believe that\] 2024 will be the year when Apple's 'Edge AI"' opportunity likely comes to fruition," say the analysts in a note seen by _AppleInsider_, "highlighted by an LLM-powered [Siri](https://appleinsider.com/inside/siri "Siri") 2.0 and a broader Gen AI-enabled operating system (introduced at [WWDC](https://appleinsider.com/inside/wwdc "WWDC") in June) that has the potential to catalyze an iPhone upgrade cycle."  

iPhone AI and Siri 2.0 will launch in 2024, predicts Morgan Stanley

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will upgrade the iPhone 17's front-facing selfie camera from 12MP/5P to 24M/6P for 2025, and is also planning improvements for the [iPhone 16](https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone-16 "iPhone 16") cameras.  
  
Previous rumors concerning the iPhone 17 range have concerned how the Pro models may be Apple's first to use [2 nanometer processors](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/12/12/iphone-17-pro-will-get-tsmcs-first-2nm-chips), and still [may not get](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/12/24/apple-in-house-wi-fi-chips-probably-wont-make-it-into-the-iphone-17) Apple's own 5G modem. As with every new iPhone generation, though, there are doubtlessly going to be camera improvements, and [Ming-Chi Kuo](https://appleinsider.com/inside/ming-chi-kuo "Ming-Chi Kuo") believes he knows what the first of these will be.  
  
"The front camera of the iPhone 17 will be upgraded to 24MP/6P lens (vs. the 12MP/5P lens of [iPhone 15](https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone-15 "iPhone 15") & 16), which will significantly improve the image quality," he writes in a [blog post](https://medium.com/@mingchikuo/-iphone-17-iphone-16-pro-vision-pro-p70-genius-is-a-key-7f125f60d783) centered on lens manufacturer Genius. "Genius is the primary lens supplier for iPhone front cameras."  
 

iPhone 17's front camera will be upgraded to 24MP, says Kuo

As it promised, Apple no longer sells the [Apple Watch Series 9](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-watch-series-9 "Apple Watch Series 9") and Apple Watch Ultra via its online store in the US — and time is running out to get them at brick and mortar Apple Stores, too.

Apple has suspended online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and [Apple Watch Ultra 2](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-watch-ultra-2 "Apple Watch Ultra 2") in the United States ahead of the upcoming import ban. The ban will [go into full effect](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/11/06/an-apple-watch-sales-ban-may-be-coming——everything-you-need-to-know) on December 25 thanks to a ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) in a patent infringement case involving med-tech company Masimo.  
  
In the last 10 minutes, the Apple Watch page shifted from the Series 9 being on the top, to the Apple Watch SE. The Series 9 and Ultra parts of the page now say "currently unavailable."  


Apple has stopped selling some Apple Watches on its web site because of patent dispute

Apple officially stops selling its latest Apple Watches online

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales are officially banned – here’s where you can still buy them

Apple keeps its word, removes Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from U.S. online Apple Stores

Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 Sales Halted On The U.S. Online Store As Import Ban Goes Into Effect

Apple halts sales of the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 in its online store ahead of Dec 25 ban

Apple will be stopping sales of the [Apple Watch](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-watch "Apple Watch") in the United States, in order to comply with an ITC ruling in its patent infringement dispute with Masimo.

With the Apple Watch [import ban](https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/11/06/an-apple-watch-sales-ban-may-be-coming——everything-you-need-to-know) in the United States set to start from Christmas Day, Apple is bracing itself for the ban being upheld by the Biden administration.Confirmed to _AppleInsider_, it is putting a hold on sales of its newest models from December 21 from the online Apple Store. For Apple Stores, sales of the [Apple Watch Series 9](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-watch-series-9 "Apple Watch Series 9") and [Apple Watch Ultra 2](https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-watch-ultra-2 "Apple Watch Ultra 2") will stop after December 24.  
  

Apple ‘pausing’ Apple Watch sales in US over patent dispute

Apple Temporarily Stops Selling Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 Due to Patent Infringements

Apple engineers race to rescue the Apple watches in the face of ban

Apple will pause U.S. Apple Watch sales starting December 21

A publication that draws info from Apple's supply chain is moving goalposts again, and is now saying that Face ID under the screen isn't coming until "after 2026."

The rumors of an all-screen iPhone with no camera penetrations is evergreen, and goes back about five years. Release of an all-screen iPhone always seemed to be coming "next year," and a new supply chain report has pushed the arrival back again, but this time, by well more than a year.A report from _The Elec_ on [early Wednesday](https://www.thelec.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=24568) says that a new screen technology from existing Apple supplier LG will be used to fulfill Apple's want for all of its cameras under the screen and not visible to the user. The report also claims that Apple has looked at similar technology from Samsung, but wasn't impressed with what was delivered.